


bodyguard

by yououui



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Cute Kids, F/M, Fluff, meeting as kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23982352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yououui/pseuds/yououui
Summary: Meeting as children, Cloud and Aerith decide to become best friends.Cloud blinked at her. “Uh… You wanna be friends with… me?”“Sure!” The girl said with an enthusiastic nod. “You seem really nice! I’d wanna play with you everyday! And… You wouldn’t leave me all alone… would you?”Cloud shook his head. “O-Of course not,” He stammered.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 11
Kudos: 162





	bodyguard

**Author's Note:**

> Written based on a prompt from @cottonmochi522 on twitter. I hope you enjoy!

Cloud watched the ground as he walked, the long stick he liked to use as a pretend-sword dragging along the dirt path by his side. He heard laughter, other kids’ voices screeching in delight as they all played together, and then—

“Cloud!”

Cloud lifted his eyes and saw Tifa waving to him. She was surrounded by her other friends, the ones that didn’t seem to like Cloud very much. He looked away from her to continue walking, but was stopped once again.

“Cloud?! Are you ignoring me?” Tifa asked as she took some steps closer to him, her hands on her hips.

Cloud looked at her again. Oh… So, she _did_ want to play with him? He felt something swell in his chest as he turned to face her fully and was about to take a step towards her.

Then, one of her friends pulled on her arm. “Come on, Tifa! Let’s go play over there!” The boy said with a nod in the opposite direction of Cloud.

Another friend took hold of her other arm and leaned in close to say, “Cloud’s no fun to hang out with, anyway.”

He said it just loud enough for Cloud to hear, gave him a quick glance, then the two boys began tugging Tifa along. Tifa shrugged at Cloud and gave him a look over her shoulder that said, _you understand, right?_ as she followed her friends along, eventually running off with them and away from Cloud.

 _No, Tifa,_ Cloud thought as the bubble in his chest burst. _I don’t understand._

Cloud turned back to the path and continued walking, glared down at the dirt like it had personally offended him. He whacked his stick on the ground as he walked. He wasn’t sure why he ever got his hopes up—Tifa and her friends never wanted to play with him. He knew by now he should just ignore them when they crossed paths, but…

Cloud kicked a rock in front of him as hard as he could and watched it bounce down and off the path. Whatever, he thought. Tifa’s friends were stupid anyway. They were all just childish little brats that liked to play childish games. Cloud wouldn’t have fun playing with them even if they did invite him. He was better off alone.

Cloud slowed his steps to a stop when he heard a noise—crying, it sounded like. He looked left and right and caught a glimpse of a pink skirt blowing in the wind from behind a tree. He stepped off the path to get a closer look and peered around the tree trunk.

There was a girl there, around his age or maybe a little older, wearing a pink dress with a matching pink ribbon tied in her braided hair. She was knelt beside the tree, crying into her hands so hard, she didn’t even notice Cloud standing nearby. 

Cloud frowned at her, hesitated on whether or not he should say something, then turned to walk back to the path. It wasn’t like whatever made her upset was his problem, after all, and it’s not like he’d know what to say to comfort her anyway.

But he only made it halfway back to the path when he stopped again. She was still crying… And she sounded so heartbroken. What could have upset her that badly? Cloud wavered in the same spot for a moment, then pressed his lips into a hard line and turned back around to stomp over to her again.

“Hey, uh…” Cloud said when he was in front of her, and she looked up at him with big green eyes that were red and swollen from sobbing. Cloud scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “You all right?”

The girl sniffled and nodded as she wiped at her cheeks. “I-I’m okay,” She said shakily as she gulped in some air.

“Then… Why are you crying?” Cloud asked with furrowed brows.

The girl’s eyes watered with tears again. “I was playing h-hide and seek with my friends, but,” Her bottom lip wobbled and the tears spilled over. “B-But they—they never came to f-find me. They ju-just left me here!”

She hiccuped a sob and dug her fists into her eyes to wipe the tears away. Cloud scuffed the toe of his shoe along the grass and shrugged his shoulders. “They don’t sound much like friends if they’re just leavin’ you here,” He told her.

The girl nodded and lowered her eyes to look sorrowfully at the ground. “I-I know… I had just hoped…”

Cloud thought of before, the happiness that grew in his chest, the thought that maybe, this time, he wouldn’t be left behind. He squatted down in front of the girl, and she looked up at him again with wide eyes. “I… don’t really have any friends, either,” He told her as he tapped his stick on the ground. “I always think they might wanna play with me but… they never do.”

“Oh…” The girl said sadly. “I’m sorry…”

Cloud shrugged. “Don’t be,” He told her. “Not your fault.”

The girl bit into her bottom lip as she looked at Cloud, and Cloud averted his eyes to the side. He felt awkward with her just staring at him like that… But then the girl gave a shaky smile that called his attention back to her.

“Then… How about we become friends?” The girl asked hopefully.

Cloud blinked at her. “Uh… You wanna be friends with… me?”

“Sure!” The girl said with an enthusiastic nod. “You seem really nice! I’d wanna play with you everyday! And… You wouldn’t leave me all alone… would you?”

Cloud shook his head. “O-Of course not,” He stammered. 

“So then… Do you want to be my friend?” She asked hesitantly.

Cloud felt like he couldn’t say no to those eager eyes even if he wanted to. And he definitely didn’t want to say no. “S-Sure,” He said with a nod.

The girl’s smile brightened like the sun. “Yay!” She squealed happily before holding her hand out to him. “My name is Aerith!”

Cloud took her hand and nodded. “Cloud.”

Aerith’s eyes got all big. “Wow… That’s a really cool name!”

“I-I-It is?” Cloud’s face felt hot.

“Yeah! Super-duper cool!” Aerith said as she stood up, pulling Cloud up with her by the hand she was still holding.

“Th-Thanks,” Cloud nodded. He had never felt like his name was anything special—in fact, he always thought it was kind of weird. But… Aerith liked it. Suddenly, he started liking it more, too.

“So, what kind of games do you like to play?” Aerith asked. She was still holding Cloud’s hand.

“Um…” Cloud shrugged awkwardly. “Whatever…”

Aerith hummed in thought, then looked at Cloud’s other hand. She pointed at the stick. “What do you carry that around for?”

Cloud looked down at the stick as well. “Uh… I use it for…” He thought for a moment. He didn’t want to look like another one of those stupid kids, not in front of Aerith. He had to look cool and adult. He held the stick up high. “I use it to fight off monsters! It’s like… my sword!”

He hoped he sounded as cool as he was trying to be.

Whether he was or wasn’t as cool as he hoped, Aerith seemed thoroughly impressed. She looked at Cloud with glittering eyes and a big smile. “Wow!” She tugged on his hand. “Then, how about you be my bodyguard?”

“Huh?” Cloud asked as he lowered the stick. “Bodyguard?”

“Yeah!” Aerith nodded about five times in one second. “We can go around fighting monsters! And you’ll be my bodyguard and keep me safe!”

Cloud thought about it for a moment, then nodded back at her. “Okay… Yeah, sure! I’ll be the best bodyguard ever!”

Aerith cheered and threw her fist in the air happily. “Let’s go then!” She cried as she pulled him by the hand. “There’s a lot of monsters around here! We gotta stop them!”

Cloud followed behind Aerith, watched as her braid swung back and forth with each of her excited steps. He felt himself begin smiling as they ran off to begin their game, happier than he had felt in a long time.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon running around the village together, fighting off imaginary monsters. They soon fell into a rhythm, with Cloud jumping in front of Aerith with a cry of, ”I’ll protect you!” and then Aerith stepping up to help him fight with her own stick they had found. They played their games until the sun began to set and their mothers called them back home.

“Today was fun!” Aerith said. She was winded and her cheeks were flushed, but she was grinning from ear to ear. “Let’s play again tomorrow!”

“Definitely,” Cloud said with a nod. “Let’s meet at the same spot, under that tree!”

“Last one there has to carry the other!” Aerith said with a wink and a laugh. She turned to run home, waving at Cloud as she ran off, and Cloud watched her go until she was out of sight.

The next morning, Cloud purposefully took his time getting to the tree just so he could hear Aerith’s peals of laughter as he ran around the village with her on his back.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! come scream about how much you love them with me
> 
> [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/yououuii)  
> [tumblr](https://yououui.tumblr.com)


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